My own opinion on salt....

[Nu2SW]

So Before this study was done. I switched my salt.

I went from IO to seachems reefsalt.

Let me say this much. I LIKE IT..... The Calcium level in the water is perfect, tested from a new sample of make up water. Also, the stuff disolves very fast. WAYYYYY faster then IO

I had some left over IO and made a batch of new water. It took 20 minutes for all the salt to disolve in the water, as where the seachem took 5 minutes and it was ready to go. I still let my seachem mix up for a good 20-30 minutes.

Its 3 bucks more a bag, but to me worth it.

I wonder how the red sea would compare to the seachem.

 

[Justin74]

Ya, big difference between those two IMO too. Im still workin on the bag of seachem reefsalt they gave away at the WMC Ive been using it for over a month now, still mixed in with some Oceanic as Ive only done (2)10 and 15% waterchanges with seachem, but a very smooth transition to say the least. Id be really interested to see there numbers and how they compare, I know the study included oceanic, but I dont think it included seachem's reefsalt.

-Justin

 

[Nu2SW]

ya it didnt include the seachem.

 

[TCC]

I must confess, I did react a bit when I saw the salt study, and as I hadn't been really happy with IO, decided to try a switch. I bought some Oceanic only because that was all I could find locally.

I already liked the switch very much as it too disolved a lot faster and got my Ca levels right up to where they should be.

I'll probably try Reef Crystals next from an online order. I'll tag along your thread and see if you continue to like the Seachem. Always interested in learning something new!

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I probably should keep my $.02 to my self but...

Seachem has just too much borate in it to suit my idea of what a salt mix should contain. Do a search and read Randy's notes on high borate salts, he is much more of an expert than I am. High borates salts do maintain their "alkalinity" and pH but to me this is artificially upping those stats, and does not have a real benefit in a reef tank. My understanding is that SeaChem has reduced the borate level in their new salt's formula, but it still makes me nervous to have borate levels higher that NSW. I have been using IO for most of my limited Reef experience and I do have to supplement it every time I mix a new batch (add Ca and most often Mg), but so far it has worked for me. BTW, in my limited experience, IO is one of the fastest dissolving salts I have used. Note however if left exposed to air and moisture it will quickly become caked and dissolve slowly if at all, although I think this is true of any salt mix.

Again, just my $.02. BTW I have never tried using SeaChem in my tank so I am NOT speaking from experience.

see

 

[Nu2SW]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8312211#post8312211 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CaliforniaDreamer
I probably should keep my $.02 to my self but...

Seachem has just too much borate in it to suit my idea of what a salt mix should contain. Do a search and read Randy's notes on high borate salts, he is much more of an expert than I am. High borates salts do maintain their "alkalinity" and pH but to me this is artificially upping those stats, and does not have a real benefit in a reef tank. My understanding is that SeaChem has reduced the borate level in their new salt's formula, but it still makes me nervous to have borate levels higher that NSW. I have been using IO for most of my limited Reef experience and I do have to supplement it every time I mix a new batch (add Ca and most often Mg), but so far it has worked for me. BTW, in my limited experience, IO is one of the fastest dissolving salts I have used. Note however if left exposed to air and moisture it will quickly become caked and dissolve slowly if at all, although I think this is true of any salt mix.

Again, just my $.02. BTW I have never tried using SeaChem in my tank so I am NOT speaking from experience.

see

But if we did everything the big people told us, then we wouldnt think for ourselves.

So they add borate into the salt mix to help with alkalinity and the PH... What is wrong with that. My PH has been 8.2 ever since I've started using it. And Once in a while I have to add a buffer.

So if it keeps the ph and alk, or help maintain it. Whats wrong with that???

 

[Justin74]

Ya, Ive read that discussion as well, and a very valid point John, for that reason I wasnt going to continue using it after my bags up, although it seems like there was an issue with Oceanic as well, but I need to re-research.

I am really surprised that you find IO fast dissolving though. From my intermitten use over 5 years I honestly can't say Ive found one fast dissolving batch. Which furthered my amazement when I did switch to Oceanic, making it almost instantaneous compared to my experiences with IO.

Btw: Im glad you didnt horde those .02 cents to yourself, thanks!



-Justin

 

[Nu2SW]

OH and actually MY alk and DKH was higher in using the IO, because I had to supplement. Since then It has lowered and is only slighly higher then NSW

The borate affects SPS the most. I do not have any SPS. But as the person in that thread says. Every person has there own opinion and experience with different Salts. All we can do is tell each other what we find and why we like it. Then make a best guess-educated guess.

But he also states he was doing larger water changes then normal. So that may be the fix to his issue, but he is totally set on that its the salt.

To be sure he should of done his normal 15% water changes and switched salt. Then that would be a better judgement point.

Which he also says his LPS and softies were all fine, only sps was having the issue. So I guess it would also depend on what kind of tank you are keeping also.

The links are interesting to read.

Thank you

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

From my understanding if you do use SeaChem you should run your Alk a little higher so that the Carbonate/bicarbonate levels are close to appropriate.

From Randy's post in the thread I referenced in my first post (I've not seen folks post such problems before, but it is certainly worthwhile to target the higher end of the alkalinity range (say, 4-5 meq/L; 11-14 dKH) if you use a salt mix with elevated borate.)


Also read Randy's comments in this post.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8312496#post8312496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nu2SW

So if it keeps the ph and alk, or help maintain it. Whats wrong with that???

My understanding is that the alkalinity in salt water is maintained primarily by three cations, carbonate, bicarbonate, and to a lesser extent borate. There is a balance between the carbonate and bicarbonate that is influenced by the amount of carbon dioxide in the water. As the carbon dioxide increases the balance favors bicarbonate over carbonate and vise versa. It is also my understanding that when corals, clams, and other calcium users incorporate calcium into their shells and skeletons they utilize carbonate/bicarbonate. Borate plays only a very small part in this relationship. Because of this, those of us who have a predominance of stony corals should try to keep the calcium and carbonate/bicarbonate levels at or above NSW. Our test kits (at least the ones that I use) do not differentiate among the three , carbonate, bicarbonate, and borate. If the borate levels are high, we have to maintain a higher level of alkalinity to adjust for the higher borate levels.

 

[Nu2SW]

MY dkh on my last test was at 12dkh.

Hmm interesting.... I wonder if anyone in the club has a borate test kit.

Wonder if john has one or sells them.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8312809#post8312809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nu2SW
MY dkh on my last test was at 12dkh.

Hmm interesting.... I wonder if anyone in the club has a borate test kit.

Wonder if john has one or sells them.

When I was at the WMC I talked with SeaChem's rep and they said that Marine Depot sells one of their kits that separately reports borate and carbonate/bicarbonate levels. I could not find that test kit on their site but I didn’t look too hard as I don’t use salt with high borate levels.

 

[Nu2SW]

That is very good info thank you for finding it.


Also anyone else please post your opinions,likes or dislikes here. Lets get a good thread going in our forum.

Thank you

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

For those of you interested in testing borate alkalinity seperate from Carbonate/bicarbonate alkalinity here is a link to the test from Marine Depot. Seachem Reef Status: Magnesium, Carbonate, Borate, Alkalinity Test Kit